Lightweight plastic container and preform

ABSTRACT

A plastic preform is provided that includes a hollow body portion including a closed bottom portion, a lower portion extending upwardly from the bottom portion, and a neck portion extending upwardly from the lower portion. The neck portion includes a support flange having an upper and lower surface, a tamper-evident formation, threads, and a dispensing opening positioned at a top of the neck portion. In an embodiment, the weight of the neck portion is 2.3 grams or less; and/or the vertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to the lower surface of the support flange, including the threads and the tamper-evident formation, is 0.500 inches or less. Containers and methods for molding preforms and making containers are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/495,084, filed Apr. 24, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/404,731, filed Jan. 12, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.9,738,409, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/383,179, filed Dec. 19, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,850,019, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/220,731, filed Jul.27, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,522,759, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/803,505, filed Jul. 20, 2015, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,403,310, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/688,734, filed Apr. 16, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,139,326,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/511,848,filed Oct. 10, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,033,168, which is a divisionalof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/749,501, filed May 16, 2007, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,857,637, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/368,860, filed Mar. 6, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No.7,708,159, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to plastic containers, including injectionmolded and/or blow molded containers.

BACKGROUND

It is desirable to improve the stability of plastic containers and thehandling of preforms that are used to form containers. At the same time,for economic and efficiency reasons, it is also desirable to providecontainers and preforms that are suitable for their intendedapplications yet have a reduced weight.

SUMMARY

A plastic preform is provided that includes a hollow body portionincluding a closed bottom portion, a lower portion extending upwardlyfrom the bottom portion, and a neck portion extending upwardly from thelower portion. The neck portion includes a support flange having anupper and lower surface, a tamper-evident formation, threads, and adispensing opening positioned at a top of the neck portion. In anembodiment, the weight of the neck portion is 2.3 grams or less; and/orthe vertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to thelower surface of the support flange, including the threads and thetamper-evident formation, is 0.500 inches or less. Containers andmethods for molding preforms and making containers are also disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example,with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a plastic container according toan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of a preform according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a preform according to an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of the area illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross sectional view of an upper portion of acontainer or preform according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a neck portion of a container or preformaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are described herein and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. While the invention will be described inconjunction with embodiments, it will be understood that they are notintended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary,the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications andequivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

A representative container 10 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention is generally shown in FIG. 1. Container 10 includes a lowersupporting base portion 12, a sidewall portion 14, and a neck portion16.

The sidewall portion may be cylindrical or non-cylindrical, and mayincluded various formations, for example, without limitation, labelpanels, strengthening ribs, etc. The neck portion 16 includes a supportflange 18 having an upper surface 20 and a lower surface 22. Supportflange 18 is generally provided to facilitate the handling ofcontainers, during formation and thereafter. Neck portion 16 furtherincludes a tamper-evident formation 28 and a dispensing opening 24positioned at, and formed by, the top of the neck portion 16. In anembodiment, the dispensing opening has an inner diameter that is atleast 22 mm. However, the dispensing opening may be of variousconventional or non-conventional sizes and may, for example, comprise acircular opening having an inner diameter from 22 mm to 29 mm.

Container 10 is comprised of plastic. In an embodiment, the containermay be comprised of polymer, such as a polymer that provides good visualclarity when bi-axially oriented like polyethylene terephthalate (PET).However, the invention is not limited to a specific polymer, andcontainers and preforms that are provided according to the teachings ofthe present invention may be comprised of a wide number of polymersand/or blends, including those that included recycled material.

The tamper-evident formation 28, may be continuous or, as generallyillustrated, may include one or more discontinuous formations. In anembodiment, the tamper-evident formation 28 is comprised of adiscontinuous tamper bead. In other embodiments, the tamper-evidentformation may comprise a formation (e.g., a lug or lugs) that extendsfrom the upper and/or lower surface of the support ring. However, theinvention is not limited to the illustrated means for indicatingtampering and other means for indicating tampering, such as a covering(e.g., a foil covering) may be used instead of or in addition to othertamper-evident formations.

Embodiments of the container may additionally include a shoulder portion15, a plurality of threads 26 for receiving a closure (not shown).Shoulder portion 15 may comprise an upper portion of the sidewallportion 14, and may extend inwardly into the neck portion 16, althoughmany container configurations do not include a shoulder portion. Afeature of containers according to embodiments of the present inventionis a lowering of the center of gravity. For most configurations andapplications, a lower center of gravity provides a container that ismore stable and less likely to tip during manufacturing, processing,and/or handling. The center of gravity is the point at which if a bodyis suspended it would be perfectly balanced. For uniformly consistent,symmetrical bodies, the center of gravity is at the geometrical center.For non-consistent or non-symmetrical bodies, the center of gravityneeds to be determined. Moreover, for purposes of the instantdisclosure, the center of gravity is associated with preforms and withcontainers that are in an unfilled condition.

The center of gravity for container 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 isgenerally shown at 50. It is noted that for the instant containerconfiguration, the center of gravity 50 is above the mid-height of thecontainer due to the additional material, and hence weight, that isprovided in the container finish portion—i.e., the neck portion 16.However, as described further herein, with a reduction in the verticallength and weight of the neck portion 16 (or elements thereof), thecenter of gravity for a container produced in accordance with theteachings of the present invention may have a center of gravity (e.g.,50) that is vertically lower than that of a container that employs aconventional (vertically longer and heavier) neck portion. For example,without limitation, the ratio of the vertical height of the center ofgravity to the vertical height of the container may be less than 0.57.Notably, for some embodiments the ratio may be less than 0.53.

Additionally, in an embodiment of the invention, portions of thecontainer—exclusive of the neck portion—may be stretched (e.g., in astretch blow molding operation) to more than 3 times their initial(i.e., preform component) length in the axial direction.

As one would also expect, with a reduction in the vertical length andweight of the neck portion, the center of gravity for an associatedpreform will also be reduced when compared to an preform of likematerial and design below the neck portion that includes a longervertical and heavier neck portion.

FIGS. 2 and 3 generally illustrate a preform 40 according to anembodiment of the invention. Preform 40 can, for instance, be used toform a wide variety of containers, including a container such as thatillustrated in FIG. 1. By way of example, without limitation, preform 40may be injection molded and/or blow molded, and may form an almostlimitless number of container configurations. FIG. 4. depicts anenlarged portion of FIG. 2.

Preform 40 is also shown including a neck portion 42. For manyapplications, the neck portion provided in connection with a preformwill remain substantially the same, and have substantially the samedimensions, as the neck portion of a molded container produced from thepreform. Consequently, the neck portion 16 of the container 10 and theneck portion 42 of the preform may be substantially consistent, whilethe remaining portions of the preform and container—i.e., those belowthe respective neck portions—may change significantly. For ease ofreference, common elements in the neck portion of the illustratedcontainer and the neck portion of the illustrated preforms are providedwith common reference numerals.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial cross sectional view of an upper portion ofa preform or a container formed from preform. In an embodiment, such asthat generally illustrated, the vertical distance X from the top of thedispensing opening/neck portion (e.g., point 30) to the lower surface 22of the support flange 18 (e.g., point 32) is 0.580 inches or less. Forsome embodiments, X may be 0.500 inches or less; for other embodiments,vertical distance X may be less than 0.450 inches. FIG. 6 illustrates aperspective view of an upper/neck portion of a preform or a container16,42 according to another embodiment. As illustrated in the figure, theneck may include threading of the type that is commonly employed inconnection with containers for holding carbonated contents.

Moreover, as generally illustrated, the vertical distance H from the topof the dispensing opening/neck portion (e.g., point 30) to the uppersurface 20 of the support flange 18 may be 0.50 inches or less. For someembodiments, H may be 0.40 inches or less. Also, for some embodiments,the vertical distance D from the top of the dispensing opening/neckportion (e.g., point 30) to the lower surface of the tamper-evidentformation (e.g., point 34) may be 0.30 inches or less.

In an embodiment, the vertical distance J from a furthestradially-extending portion of the lower surface of the tamper-evidentformation 28 (e.g., point 36) to the upper surface 20 of the supportflange 18, which generally equates to H minus D, may be 0.15 inches orless. For some embodiments, J may be 0.10 inches or less, and for otherembodiments, vertical distance J may be less than 0.09 inches. For yetother embodiments, vertical distance J may be less than 0.08 inches.

Also, in an embodiment of the invention, the vertical distance between afurthest outwardly radially-extending portion of the lower surface ofthe tamper-evident formation (e.g., point 36) to the lower surface 22 ofthe support flange 18 at the same outward radial distance—which maygenerally equate or coincide with X minus D—is 0.20 inches or less, andfor some embodiments may be 0.15 inches or less.

In an embodiment, support flange 18 has a radially extending length L₁that is 0.20 inches or less. For some applications, length L₁ may befurther reduced to 0.17 inches or less. With further reference tosupport flange 18, the angle—from horizontal—provided by a furthestoutward radially extending portion of the lower surface 22 of supportflange 18 (e.g., point 32) to the nearest radially-extending portion ofthe upper surface 20 of the support flange 18 is 16° or greater, and maybe 20.0°±2°. However, for some embodiments, such as that generallydepicted in FIG. 5, whereas a blending radius is provided to transitionsupporting flange 18 into an adjacent vertical portion of the neck(e.g., segment 39), the nearest radially-extending portion of the uppersurface 20 of support flange 18 may be a theoretical position withinsupporting flange 18—e.g., point 38. Furthermore, for some embodiment,the least distance from a furthest radially-extending portion of thesupport flange (e.g., point 32) to the upper surface of the dispensingopening (e.g., at or about 30) is 0.60 inches or less, and for some neckportions may be 0.50 inches or less.

Embodiments of preforms and containers may have a neck portion thatweighs 3.0 grams or less. For some embodiments, the weight of the neckportion can be 2.3 grams or less. Further, for a 500 ml version of acontainer made in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, thetotal weight of the preform and an unfilled weight of a containerproduced from such a preform may be 11 grams or less, and for someembodiments may be 10 grams or less. Of course, for many embodiments,without limitation, the preform and resulting container will weigh atleast 9 grams.

By providing a neck portion 16 for a container 10 that incorporates oneor more aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the center of gravity(see, e.g., 50 in FIG. 1) for the container may be lowered. For e.g.,for a 500 ml container of with a configuration as generally shown inFIG. 1, the weight of the neck portion may be reduced from aconventional 3.4 to 2.0 g. Based on such a reduction in weight, thecenter of gravity (see, e.g., 50) may become at least about 0.48 incheslower than that provided for a similarly configured container having a3.4 g finish—and will likely be about 0.48 and 0.58 inches lower thanwith the heavier (e.g., 3.4 g) conventional finish. Providing a neckportion in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein for such acontainer can provide a lowering of center of gravity as a percentage ofheight from bottom that ranged from about 4.5% to about 6% when comparedto a similar container with a conventional 3.4 g neck portion. Moreover,when a container such as that discussed in this paragraph (e.g., 2.0 gneck portion/finish) is compared to a conventional container (e.g. 3.4 gneck portion/finish), the calculations provide a drop or lowering incenter of gravity that provides an approximately 10.5% to 12.2% relativepercent change (i.e., percent improvement).

It is noted that in addition to the material and economic benefits thatmay be achieved by “light-weighting” and lowering a comparative centerof gravity in a resultant container, a lowering in the center of gravityof a preform may also provide certain manufacturing benefits. Forexample, without limitation, a preform with a comparatively lower centerof gravity may provide for improved sorting and/or handling duringproduction and manufacturing. That is, among other things, a preformwith a lower center of gravity can provide for comparatively more stableor improved retention and processing. Similarly, a container with alower center of gravity may exhibit improved handling, for instance,without limitation, in connection with de-palletizing or with “tabletop” conveying systems. Further, a lower center of gravity can provide acontainer, filled or unfilled, with improved stability. It is furthernoted, however, that the present invention is not limited to containersthat are blown and filled in distinct or separate operations. That is,without limitation, preforms and containers provided in accordance withthe teachings of the present invention also lend themselves for use inconnection with various conventional “blow-and-fill” operations,including those in which a container is filled just after formation(e.g., within seconds of formation) in close proximity to where thecontainer is formed. The operation comprising the blow-and-fill may be asingle, integrated machine, or may be comprised of two or more separatedevices that are adjacent or in close proximity to one another.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the presentinvention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and various modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodimentswere chosen and described in order to explain the principles of theinvention and its practical application, to thereby enable othersskilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments withvarious modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claimsappended hereto and their equivalents.

What is claimed:
 1. A plastic preform, comprising: a hollow body portionincluding: a closed bottom portion; and a lower portion extendingupwardly from the bottom portion; and a neck portion extending upwardlyfrom the lower portion, the neck portion including: a dispensing openingpositioned at a top of the neck portion; threads positioned below thedispensing opening; a tamper-evident formation positioned below thethreads; and a support flange positioned below the tamper-evidentformation, the support flange having an upper surface and a lowersurface; wherein the preform is formed of a material comprisingpolyethylene terephthalate (PET); a weight of the neck portion from thelower surface of the support flange to a top of the dispensing openingis 2.3 grams or less; and a vertical distance from the top of thedispensing opening to the lower surface of the support flange is 0.500inches or less.
 2. The preform according to claim 1, wherein a verticaldistance from a furthest outwardly radially-extending portion of a lowersurface of the tamper-evident formation to the upper surface of thesupport flange at the same outward radial distance is 0.15 inches orless.
 3. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the preform is formedof a material comprising recycled material.
 4. The preform according toclaim 1, wherein an inner diameter of the dispensing opening is between22 mm and 29 mm.
 5. The preform according to claim 1, wherein thetamper-evident formation comprises a bead.
 6. The preform of claim 1,wherein the tamper-evident formation is discontinuous.
 7. The preformaccording to claim 1, wherein a vertical distance from a furthestoutwardly radially-extending portion of a lower surface of thetamper-evident formation to the upper surface of the support flange atthe same outward radial distance is 0.10 inches or less.
 8. The preformaccording to claim 1, wherein a vertical distance from a furthestoutwardly radially-extending portion of a lower surface of thetamper-evident formation to the lower surface of the support flange atthe same outward radial distance is 0.20 inches or less.
 9. The preformaccording to claim 1, wherein a combined weight of the neck portion, theclosed bottom portion and the lower portion is 10 grams or less.
 10. Thepreform according to claim 1, wherein the preform is formed of a blendof polymers.
 11. The preform according to claim 1, wherein a verticaldistance from the top of the dispensing opening to the upper surface ofthe support flange is 0.40 inches or less.
 12. The preform according toclaim 1, wherein a vertical distance from a lower surface of thetamper-evident formation to the top of the dispensing opening is 0.30inches or less.
 13. The preform according to claim 1, wherein an outsidediameter of the support flange is greater than 22 mm.
 14. The preformaccording to claim 13, wherein a radially extending length of thesupport flange is 0.17 inches or less.
 15. The preform according toclaim 1, wherein a radially extending length of the support flange is0.17 inches or less.
 16. The preform according to claim 1, wherein anoutside diameter of the support flange is greater than 22 mm and lessthan or equal to 39.2 mm.
 17. The preform according to claim 1, whereinthe vertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to thelower surface of the support flange is 0.450 inches or less.
 18. Thepreform according to claim 1, wherein the tamper-evident formation isvertically spaced from the threads.
 19. A method, comprising: injectionmolding a plastic preform having a hollow body portion and a neckportion, the neck portion including: a dispensing opening positioned ata top of the neck portion; threads positioned below the dispensingopening; a tamper-evident formation positioned below the threads; and asupport flange positioned below the tamper-evident formation, thesupport flange having an upper and lower surface; wherein the preform isformed of a material comprising polyethylene terephthalate (PET); aweight of the neck portion from the lower surface of the support flangeto a top of the dispensing opening is 2.3 grams or less; and a verticaldistance from the top of the dispensing opening to the lower surface ofthe support flange is 0.450 inches or less.
 20. The method according toclaim 19, further comprising stretch blow molding the preform to form acontainer.
 21. The method according to claim 20, further comprisingfilling the container just after formation and in close proximity towhere the container is formed.
 22. The method according to claim 21,wherein the container is filled with a beverage.
 23. The methodaccording to claim 20, wherein a ratio of a vertical height of thecenter of gravity of the container to the vertical height of thecontainer is less than 0.57.
 24. The method according to claim 20,wherein, for a 500 ml container, the weight of the neck portion is 2.0grams or less.
 25. The method according to claim 20, wherein blowmolding the preform comprises causing the preform to be stretched morethan three times an initial length of the preform in an axial directionto form the container.
 26. The method according to claim 19, wherein anoutside diameter of the support flange is greater than 22 mm and lessthan or equal to 39.2 mm.
 27. The method according to claim 19, whereina radially extending length of the support flange is 0.20 inches orless.
 28. A plastic preform, comprising: a hollow body portionincluding: a closed bottom portion; and a lower portion extendingupwardly from the bottom portion; and a neck portion extending upwardlyfrom the lower portion, the neck portion including: a dispensing openingpositioned at a top of the neck portion; threads positioned below thedispensing opening; a tamper-evident formation positioned below thethreads; and a support flange positioned below the tamper-evidentformation, the support flange having an upper surface and a lowersurface; wherein the preform is formed of a material comprisingpolyethylene terephthalate (PET); the threads comprise multiple-leadthreads; a weight of the neck portion from the lower surface of thesupport flange to a top of the dispensing opening is 2.3 grams or less;an outside diameter of the support flange is greater than 22 mm and lessthan or equal to 39.2 mm; and a vertical distance from a lower surfaceof the tamper-evident formation to a top of the dispensing opening is0.30 inches or less.
 29. A plastic preform, comprising: a hollow bodyportion including: a closed bottom portion; and a lower portionextending upwardly from the bottom portion; and a neck portion extendingupwardly from the lower portion, the neck portion including: adispensing opening positioned at a top of the neck portion; threadspositioned below the dispensing opening; a tamper-evident formationpositioned below the threads; and a support flange positioned below thetamper-evident formation, the support flange having an upper surface anda lower surface; wherein the preform is formed of a material comprisingpolyethylene terephthalate (PET); a weight of the neck portion from thelower surface of the support flange to a top of the dispensing openingis 2.3 grams or less; a combined weight of the neck portion, the closedbottom portion, and the lower portion is 11 grams or less; and avertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to the lowersurface of the support flange, including the threads and thetamper-evident formation, is 0.500 inches or less.
 30. The preformaccording to claim 29, wherein the vertical distance from the top of thedispensing opening to the lower surface of the support flange is 0.450inches or less.